The Girl the Kingdom Forgot
by PrincessDaydream77
Summary: Every thing is perfectly fine in the Camelot citadel until something startling occurs. Morgana Le Faye disappears, leaving a blonde woman in her place. Arthur and Merlin are set in a race against time to save the girl that the world forgot. But will they switch mother and daughter back in time? Set sometime in after the ninth episode of series one.
1. Lost Past, Recovered Future

The Girl That The Kingdom Forgot

Summary : Every thing is perfectly fine in the Camelot citadel until something startling occurs. Morgana Le Faye disappears, leaving a blonde woman in her place. Arthur and Merlin are set in a race against time to save the girl that the world forgot. But will they switch mother and daughter back in time? Set sometime in after the ninth episode of series one.

Disclaimer : Everything belongs to the BBC/Arthurian legend. Story belongs to me.

Chapter One-Prologue

Eleven years earlier

Arthur and Uther were riding at lightning speed towards Willowdale village, which was on the furthest outskirts of the kingdom and was the first place that Cenred would go to during his threatened attacks, as it was right on the borderline between Camelot and Escitir. It was also the place where Arthur's maternal aunt and uncle lived, along with their young daughter, Morgana.

As they approached it, they noticed that they air had turned warm, yet it still had a cold feel about it. They saw a large group of people running screaming from the village, carrying their children and as many possessions as they could carry. Uther managed to stop one lone man as he was running.

"Excuse me, what has happened? Why is everyone running away?"

"There's a fire. Cenred's sent his troops to burn down the village. They got the Manor House and it spread through the village. Everyone's tryin' to get out before they get trapped, sire."

"Was anyone at the Manor House when it burnt down?"

"Lady Vivienne gave all the servants the day off. Sir Gorlois went out earlier and we haven't seen him come back, sire."

"Did Lady Vivienne leave the house herself?"

"I don't think so. But Lady Morgana went out a little earlier, to go riding. I don't know if she came back or not. Sorry, I can't be of more help, sire."

"Thank you very much." replied Uther hurriedly, before riding off in the direction of the burning village, Arthur hot on his heels. As they rode, the slight orange glow became vivid and bright and the warm air became scorching hot, the intensity of the surroundings increasing their worry.

At last, the trees parted, relieving the royals. But the relief was shortlived as they saw the village itself. The cottages had been scorched until they were black. But the real shock was the Manor House, which was still ablaze. They recognised three of the people outside of it as Gorlois, Vivienne and Vivienne's elder brother, Sir Agravaine. Agravaine was holding Vivienne back to his chest, muffling her cries, while Gorlois had his arm around her shoulder.

"Gorlois, what's happened?"

"Cenred. He reached Willowdale first and targeted the Manor House. There was nothing we could do."

"Where's Morgana?" asked Arthur worriedly.

"She's gone riding, Arthur. She'll be back soon." replied Agravaine, giving his nephew a reassuring smile."Though I have to admit that she is a little late back. She should have returned by dusk." chipped in Gorlois worriedly, the lot of them beginning to hurry from the burning house. As they reached the trees, Vivienne suddenly let out a blood-curdling scream.

"Vivienne? Vivienne, darling, what is it?"

"SHE'S IN THE HOUSE! GORLOIS, SHE'S STILL IN THE HOUSE!"

"Who is, Vivienne? Who?"

"Morgana!"

They all turned to the house in terror to see a small girl desperately trying to break the glass doors leading to the balcony. Her screams were muffled, but they were so loud that they could hear them anyway.

"Help me! Please help me, please! Mummy, Daddy, help! Arthur, help-"

Her cries were cut off as the smoke closed in on her and she began to slide down the window, the effort to stay upright beyond her. Without warning, Vivienne wrenched herself from her elder brother's arms and bolted for the house.

"VIVIENNE!" screamed Gorlois, making to run, but being held back by both his own and his wife's brother-in-law.

"Gorlois, you cannot go into that house, it could collapse at any moment!"

"Uther, that is my wife and daughter, they are all I have, I will _not_ let them die!"

"You go into that house, _you_ will die!" countered Uther, refusing to loosen his grip on the man's arms.

Vivienne was hurtling her way through the half collapsed house, dodging out of the way of burning debris and screaming for her daughter.

She burst through the door of the small balcony hall and awkwardly whisked Morgana out of the way of the flames. She took her daughter's hand and began to run, taking care where to step because the house's supports were all but gone. They reached a small gap in the collapsed beams and it suddenly struck Vivienne. Only one of them could possibly get out of that house alive, and it didn't even take the woman a second to decide which of them it would be.

"Morgana, I want you to listen to me very carefully. I am going to lift up that beam and you have to climb through the hole, jump down through the floor and run to the door and away from the house as fast as you can, do you understand?"

"Yes, Mummy." replied the unnaturally timid young girl.

"Good girl. I love you, Morgana." cried Vivienne, pulling her daughter close.

"Now. Run." yelled Vivienne as she lifted the beam. Morgana took one last look at her mother, then climbed through the gap and jumped into the darkness. Vivienne dropped the beam and the house tumbled to the ground.

As the beams collapsed, Gorlois screamed in anguish and Arthur buried his head in his uncle's side. They all turned away in despair from the collapsed house, the wreckage that marked the death of Vivienne Le Faye and her five-year-old daughter. Just as they walked away, they heard a yell come from behind them. They all turned and there wasn't one person who was not ecstatic with what they saw.

The girl wasn't close enough for her face to be seen, but her singed raven locks made her instantly recognisable.

"MORGANA!" screamed Gorlois, running towards the girl and sweeping her into his arms, holding her slight body close against his chest, his tears wetting her charred raven hair. The others all gathered around the pair, relieved smiles lighting up their faces, as well as a touch of disbelief. They all took a moment to wonder whether another person would come hurtling from the house, but after it's collapse, that was utterly impossible. They had Morgana, their hope for the future, but at a terrible loss.

Vivienne Annetta Le Faye was dead.


	2. Impossibility Personified

Chapter Two

As the morning sun engulfed the Camelot citadel in light, Arthur Tristan Pendragon saw fit to rise from his bed, even though his troubled night had left him unrested and fatigued.

The previous night, for some unknown reason, he had relived the terrible night of his aunt's death. He remembered how the experience had wounded his father and uncle and taken it's deathly toll on Gorlois. And although she would never admit it, her mother's death internally wounded Morgana, a lot more than possibly visable from anyone who didn't know her as well as he did.

That was the reason that Vivienne was never mentioned in the household. It was also the reason that Morgana went on a pilgrimage to her old home every year on the anniversary of her mother's death. Then it hit him. The anniversary was today.

"Merlin!" called Arthur, bringing his attention back to the events of the day.

"Yes, sire?" called Merlin, entering the room with Arthur's clothes and a bowl of water for him to wash in.

"Oh, this is going to be a fun day." breathed Arthur, stretching his arms above his head and swinging his legs out of bed.

"What are you on about, sire?" asked Merlin, who had obviously overheard the prince's sarcastic whisper.

"Morgana's mother. She died, 11 years ago. 11 years today. Morgana goes on a pilgrimage every year to her old home, to mark the anniversary of her death. I'm going with her this year, she always says that she's fine, but I can see that she isn't."

"That's a very kind thing for you to do, sire, are you sure it won't dent your reputation, being so nice?" asked Merlin cheekily, a smile of innocence dominating his features, but disappearing when the young prince wacked him around the face.

"I don't have time to argue, Merlin, if I did I would punish you more. But I don't, so I'm just going to tell you to complete the list of things that I've told you to do."

"Oh, well that doesn't sound so bad." sighed Merlin, picking up the list as Arthur ran out of the door. He sighed and flopped down on the bed, tripping over the length of the scroll as he fell.

Outside the castle steps, Morgana was already on her horse, the entire court seemingly looking out of their windows, gawping at the spectacle of such a bright, vibrant girl veiled in black. Arthur mounted his steed beside her, giving her a light tap on the shoulders, before setting off, their horses gathering speed as they rode further and further away from their home.

Finally, Arthur decided that they should stop for a rest. They tied their steeds to a neighbouring tree, then went about their seperate tasks, Morgana tending to the horses and Arthur gathering firewood.

Then they set off again, riding and riding as the sun lowered towards the horizon. At last, as the sky burned a fiery orange, they reached the village of Willowdale. They dismounted their horses, tying them to the steed stump and walking the rest of the way, stumbling along in silence until they reached a green clearing, filled with hundreds upon hundreds of blooming flowers. The only sign that there had once been a burning wreck on that site was the large stone headstone that emerged from the ground. They approached it slowly, taking care to follow the weaving path through the flowerheads. As they came closer, the writing on the stone became clearer, the golden writing coming into focus. A dozen more steps and it was right in front of them, glimmering in the sunset. Morgana sank to her knees on the floor about two feet from the stone, Arthur bending down beside her, enveloping his shaking adoptive sister in his arms as she read the copperplate tribute.

_In loving memory of Vivienne Annietta Le Faye,  
Who tragically died protecting her young daughter's life,  
Beloved wife to Gorlois,  
Loyal sister to Agravaine, Tristan and Ygraine,  
Caring mother to young Morgana,  
She shall remain in our hearts for eternity._

When Arthur leaning back to take a proper look at Morgana, she was sobbing profusely. He pulled her flush to his chest, stroking her hair in an effort to calm the young girl. Once she had calmed a little, Arthur took both her hands in his and pulled her to her feet, staring into her eyes, two pools of sparkling emerald so similar to the ones Arthur remembered of his aunt's.

"We should go now, my father will be wondering where we are. Would you like to say goodbye or-"

"No." Morgana said abruptly, tearing her eyes away from the stone. "I can't stay here, Arthur. Even the memory burns my skin like candlewax. I have to leave now or I never will. So let's go home." she finished, a single tear sliding down her pale cheek, illuminated by the sun's final glow.

Soon afterwards they were riding towards Camelot once more, the very tip of the citadel's towers just visable in the early sunlight, when the pair stopped once more. It was Morgana this time that went to find firewood, while Arthur roasted a well-shot squirrel on a spit. It was hardly a rarity for the two royals, for they had done the same thing on a regular basis during their childhood days. Arthur watched the animal twirl round over the fire with a strange fascination, wondering when Morgana would return. Suddenly, a scream pierced the silent forest and a golden glow filled the morning air.

Arthur's head whipped round to the direction of the scream and he lept to his feet. Before he knew it, he was sprinting through the forest to where he thought Morgana had gone. Then he found it. But she was gone.

Arthur couldn't understand it, but his troubled mind could only come to one conclusion. That she had been kidnapped. Again.

It went against Arthur's concience, but his mind and common sense was telling him to return to Camelot and inform his father of his suspicions. He decided to act on his common sense for once in his life and mounted his horse, galloping away towards the citadel.

In a matter of minutes, he was running up the stairs to Morgana's chambers. He burst through the door and looked around. Something about it looked different. The jewellery and clothes were different, that much was definately true, but the thing Arthur noticed the most was a portrait of Morgana hanging on the wall. True, Morgana did have a portrait of herself and her parents hanging on her wall, but this was different. The portrait was of Morgana alone and she wasn't the sort of girl to be vain enough to have a picture of herself on her bedroom wall. What's more, the portrait was at least ten years old, if not more, and the colours were beginning to fade. Arthur's thoughts were interrupted however when the door burst open, a woman robed in blue hurtling through. Her raven hair was carefully tied up, plaited around the top of her head. But the woman was not Morgana. She was impossibility personified.

She was Morgana's mother.

A/N: Cliffhanger! I'll try to update soon, but I'm back at school now, so it won't be frequent, because I have like 18 other stories to update as well, not to mention the one-shots I'm writing to fill the gaps.


	3. Forgotten By Most

Chapter Three

A/N: Thank you to my reviewer, Rya3SaberVltar. It really means so much to me.

Arthur couldn't believe it. He couldn't move, he couldn't speak, he could barely even breathe. After all those years, the fire, the pain, his aunt was standing in front of him as if it had all been a dream. '_Maybe it has been._' thought the prince. It was then that the woman noticed him.

"Arthur!" she cried, smiling widely as she caught sight of her nephew. "What a pleasant surprise! How may I help you?"

The young man just continued to stare at the woman. She swept across the room towards the prince, resting her hands on his broad shoulders.

"Arthur, what is the matter with you? You look troubled." stated the woman, her worry evident on her delicately aged features. It took the prince a few moments to pluck up the courage to address his aunt.

"Aunt Vivienne...what are you doing here?" It seemed the most obvious question to ask, but Arthur felt that he had to start somewhere.

"Oh, well, I had forgotten some papers that your father had given me for court, it was so silly of me, so I simply came up to retrieve them. Can I help you, Arthur?"

Arthur opened his mouth to speak his mind, but closed it again, deciding that it would be more prudent not to speak in the current situation. Then a sudden thought struck him. Yes!

"No. It's nothing, Aunt Vivienne. Nothing at all." he lied, bowing his head slightly to her, before running through the doors, his idea the only thing on his mind.

It took Arthur a couple of minutes to reach the doors to the council chambers and push them open. As he usually was at that time of day, Uther was sitting alone, a goblet of wine cradled in his leather-gloved hand. His eyes were a little red around the edges and he seemed to be staring at the stone wall. It took him a few moments to notice the younger Pendragon, and when he did, his expression did little to show it.

"Arthur, what brought you here on this ominous occasion?" asked Uther, his face flinching into a sad smile.

"Well, Father, I went out on a pilgrimmage today, Morgana's pilgrimmage, but now I've returned...a lot seems to have changed."

"Well, yes, my son, a lot has changed in the recent years."

"No, Sire, I am speaking of today in particular. I went up to the chambers of Lady Vivienne and I have noticed that the portrait of Morgana on the wall is starting to fade away a little. The room had quite a chill to it as well. Do you not think that these things could be significant?"

"Perhaps. However, my son, there are sometimes occurances in life that we can neither explain nor accept, but we must always do the latter if we're to survive, for that is how we live on. We must move on from this, or it shall haunt us forever."

"I know, Father, but..." Arthur stopped abruptly, wondering how to phrase his next words.

"What, Arthur?" prompted Uther.

"Father...do you believe that the dead can live on?"

"She will always live in our hearts, Arthur. For such a tragic event to occur to someone so young is utterly unjust, but Morgana will always live on in our hearts."

Arthur was gobsmacked. He had thought that broaching the subject with his Aunt Vivienne would be a little insensitive, but his father was acting as if Morgana were already boxed up and buried. Arthur quickly bowed and left the room. Uther barely even noticed.

Arthur had then decided to run down to the Lower Town, realising that perhaps the most likely to have acknoledged Morgana's disappearance was there. Upon reaching the correct house, Arthur knocked politely on the door and, hearing the response, entered.

Standing before him, tidying her house, was an eighteen-year-old girl, dark haired and rather lovely.

"Hello, Guinevere." called Arthur, startling the woman into dropping a fruit bowl. Arthur immediately dropped to his knees to assist her in picking up the many apples rolling around the chilled stone floor. Once they were all gathered, Gwen dropped her skirts into a low curtsy.

"Sire, what may I do for you?" she asked, rising with her head still bent.

"Gwen, I was wondering if you had seen Morgana anywhere?" After the amount of fuss he had been through with his father, Arthur had decided to come straight out and say what he meant. Gwen's expression quickly changed to one of confusion, her brow furrowing a little.

"Sire, I'm afraid that I am not entirely sure what you mean." she answered, her voice little more than a whisper.

"I just wondered if you had seen Lady Morgana."

"Sire, I think you should speak to Gaius. He will probably be able to help you."

"Alright. Thank you, Guinevere." finished Arthur, bowing his head towards her and running back up to the citadel.

Arthur returned to his chambers that evening, having had much the same reaction from everyone he spoke to.

"This is impossible!" he exclaimed in despair, sinking down onto his bed and resting his head in his hands. Suddenly, the door slammed open against the wall and Merlin came tumbling through the door, sending the silverware that he was holding crashing loudly to the stone floor.

"Merlin!" Arthur cried, leaping up and whacking Merlin across the head.

"Ouch!" Merlin exclaimed, clutching his ear, where Arthur's ring had lightly clipped it.

"Sorry, Merlin." sighed Arthur, his face looking mildly sympathetic. "I've just had a bad day. I've lost someone I love and someone else has just appeared in their place."

"Wow, first you escort Morgana to her mother's graveside without complaint, then you apologise for hitting me. It sounds like it's been a strange day for you." Arthur laughed a little at the man's comment before stopping suddenly, staring up at his smiling manservant.

"Did you just say 'Morgana'?" he asked, causing Merlin's smile to be replaced with a confused expression.

"Yeah. Where is she?"

"I never thought I'd say this, but Merlin?" asked Arthur, seemingly disregarding Merlin's previous question.

"Yes?" he replied.

"You're a genius!"

A/N: Please review for me, I really want your opinions.


	4. Discoveries in Anguish

Chapter Four

Arthur and Merlin were sat at Arthur's table, the former resting his head on the cool surface, while the latter sat quite stiffly and uncomfortably.

"What are we going to do, Merlin?" Arthur asked his servant, his voice muffled slightly by the polished surface beneath his face.

"What about?" Merlin responded. Arthur turned to him, a look of annoyance and disapproval evidently sweeping across his features. "Oh, right, that."

"Yes that, Merlin! What else do you think I'd mean?!" yelled Arthur, turning on his manservant.

"Alright, alright." cried Merlin, raising both hands, palms forward, at his employer. "You're so touchy lately!"

"Merlin, you have never seen me touchy, do not tempt me to change that fact!"

"Alright." Merlin lowered his hands a little, summarised that Arthur was not going to hit him, and then lowered them. The action was immediately followed by a sharp slap to the side of his head. "Touchy."

"Shut up, Merlin."

"Yes, Sire."

"Now… we need to find out who has taken Morgana and where, and how in the name of the gods my aunt is still alive. Any suggestions?"

"Well, actually, yeah. Did you say that everyone is acting like they're mourning Morgana?"

"No, I didn't." the prince sighed in exasperation.

"Oh." Merlin sighed in return.

"But come to think of it, they are." Arthur told his servant, who knocked his head once against the table before continuing.

"Alright. So, if they think Morgana is dead, and your aunt is suddenly back from the dead…"

"Yes?" Arthur asked, becoming a little impatient.

"Isn't it obvious?" Merlin questioned, looking smugly at his employer.

"No!" exclaimed the blonde, pushing his hair out of the way of his eyes.

"What if someone has switched them around, so that Morgana is dead and her mother is alive?" A pregnant pause followed, enveloping the silent room, before Arthur spoke.

"Merlin, that is… ridiculous!" the prince exclaimed, staring his servant up and down as to judge whether he was mad or just plainly stupid.

"No, it isn't. Think about it. Everyone thinks that Morgana is dead, on the anniversary of her mother's death. Then she disappears near her mother's grave and suddenly her mother is alive. It makes perfect sense." Merlin debated with Arthur, a lovely feeling of power coming over him as he argued with the arrogant prat.

"Well… if there is any sense in that at all, and I stress the '_if_'… how can we possibly find out?"

"There's only one way to find out. We need to visit Morgana's mother's grave."

Almost a full day later, after three misjudgments on the map, two complete dead ends and numerous beatings around the head for Merlin, resulting in one lightly concussed manservant, the pair arrived at the edge of Willowdale village.

"I know the way from here." Arthur assured Merlin, who did not look at all convinced.

"Really, because you said you knew the way from Camelot and it still took us an extra hour to get here!"

"Merlin…" Arthur began, gritting his teeth in annoyance.

"Shutting up, Sire." the younger man said, already knowing from experience the two words that were coming next.

"Good." Arthur said. "You're learning."

With those words, he hit Merlin once more about the ear and rode off towards some woods.

"Why are we going into some woods?" asked Merlin, rubbing his still tender ear and wincing in pain. "You said that the grave was where Morgana's house used to be."

"Yes, Merlin, and Morgana's house used to be in the woods." Arthur explained, with very little patience at all.

"Oh." Merlin sighed, raising his hand to his forehead and shaking his head from side to side. "Of course, how stupid of me, Sire. I mean, in this day and age, doesn't everyone live in the woods?!"

"What happened to shutting up?!" Arthur exclaimed, using a great deal of effort to keep the question under his breath and not to scream it in the man's face.

"I'm just saying!" Merlin told his master, raising his hands into the air with his palms forward, as he recalled doing the previous day. Come to think of it, and the day before that. And the day before that…

"Well, do us all a favour, and don't!" exclaimed the prince, all thoughts of keeping his voice low completely gone as his anger bubbled over the breaking point. Merlin was about to retort when something caught his eye. It looked to be a stone, set in a bed of flowers, with a path running up to it. The stone was reflecting the moonlight, glowing ethereally, but Merlin could feel inside him that that wasn't the only reason it was shining. He could feel its power from two hundred feet away.

"Arthur. Is that it?" Merlin asked, in all serious, praying that it wasn't. For Arthur's sake, at least.

"Yes." Arthur answered simply, spurring his horse to ride faster. He stopped it a few inches from the places, tying the reins to a nearby tree. Merlin did the same, his uneasy feeling growing with every step he took towards the stone.

Arthur reached it first, taking out his sword and standing it up in the ground. Merlin guessed that it was a sign of respect, that knights were unarmed at a graveside. But as soon as Arthur caught sight of the writing, he looked as if he could pick up that sword and cut down anything in sight, anger and grief controlling his actions completely.

_In loving memory of Morgana Elissa Vivienne Le Faye,  
Who tragically died in the blaze that set her village alight,  
Beautiful daughter to Gorlois and Vivienne,  
Caring niece to Agravaine, Tristan and Ygraine,  
Loyal cousin and friend to Arthur,  
She shall remain in our hearts for eternity._

"Who could have done this, Merlin?" Arthur asked, gritting his teeth against the tears that would not cease to fall.

"I don't know, Sire." Merlin answered honestly, shaking his head slightly. "There is only we can know for sure about this."

"And what is that, Merlin?" questioned Arthur, a hint of his usual disbelief when questioning Merlin present in his voice, much to the relief of the younger man, though he sensed that it would dissipate with the next few words he had to say.

"This was no ordinary killer. Sire, this was magic."

A/N: Thank you and keep reading *cough*and reviewing please! *cough*


	5. Magical Enemies

Chapter Five

A/N: Thanks to dream-on-sunday, as always.

"The question I have, Merlin, is who could have done this?" Arthur asked his servant, his head still reeling a little from the daunting explanation the man had forced upon him.

"Who knows?" Merlin replied, helping the prince just as much as the blisters forming on his palms. "It could've been anyone. Does she have any enemies? Any personal enemies?"

"I don't know. Probably not. She's been lovely all her life, I can't see why anyone would wish her dead." Arthur answered, thinking aloud at the final statement.

"The thing is, though, Arthur, that they didn't just want her dead… someone wanted Vivienne alive in her place." the man stated, speaking slowly and leaving small gaps while he tried to figure out what he was going to say.

"Well, that narrows it down." the prince quipped, sparking the look of confusion that appeared on Merlin's face. Sighing and thinking of what an utter imbecile the man was, Arthur continued. "Aunt Vivienne was never the most popular of people. Everyone preferred my mother, meaning most disliked Morgana's on principle, especially if they had had an argument. And, of course, no one ever forgot the fact that she had a child out of wedlock. They never forgave her for that. There was even a rumour that she had magic."

By the time Arthur had finished speaking, and had turned to face Merlin once again, he could see that the man's eyebrows had practically disappeared into his overlong hairline, his eyes widened to the size of gold coins, giving him an almost comical look.

"Wow. She did all of that? No wonder she wasn't popular. She did something to offend just about everyone in the kingdom!" Merlin commented, laughing a little at his own joke. Arthur, on the other hand, had kept a completely straight face. "Sorry."

"You should be. No matter what she did, she's still my family, just like Morgana is." Arthur warned his servant, his voice clearly showing how defensive he was over his family tree. It was not the first time the Crown Prince of Camelot had reacted so in the short time that Merlin had known him, but the younger could understand why. Then both men fell silent.

"We will get her back, Arthur." Merlin told the elder man, after a good few minutes of silence. There was very little response from the prince, as his facial expressions scarcely changed, but his servant knew very well that he had heard his promise, and that he had made the same one in his own mind.

"Well, just sitting here at a graveside won't help us to do that. Come on, Merlin, we're going back to Camelot."

Just over two hours later, the pair arrived in the deserted courtyard of the Camelot Citadel, the moonlight bouncing off the flagstones. Everyone should have been long since in bed, as it was nearing midnight, but there was still one room of candles not extinguished. Arthur was not surprised at which room it was, but it sent a stab of pain flying at his heart. The room was Morgana's.

Evidently, his adoptive sister had acquired her nocturnal tendencies from her mother, as it was she who was currently occupying the room. Arthur and the young men who were to later to become his gang of knights had often joked as children that Morgana was a vampire, as she was ghostly pale and stayed awake late into the night. It seemed that Vivienne was the same.

"She's still awake." Merlin mused aloud, emitting a sigh of desperation from the blonde.

"I think I've realised that Merlin. I am not blind!" he exclaimed in annoyance, his facial expression twisting to show that point.

"You could've fooled me!" his servant exclaimed in return, though under his breath. Unfortunately, it was not under his breath enough, but Arthur, for once in his life, did not take note of this, instead dismounting his horse and bolting through the doors, making his way straight up to his chambers and leaving Merlin to deal with the horses.

By the time the dark haired man had arrived, soaked to the skin from the rain that had begun to pour, the prince was near in a frenzy. The many drawers of his chest were pulled from their holder, the contents scattered all across the floor, turning it to a sea of keys and papers. He seemed to be searching for something, and by the looks of it, he was having as much success as if he were searching for a needle in a haystack.

"Um… Arthur?" Merlin questioned, clearly his throat slightly in mid-sentence, catching and holding the blonde's attention for all of a second before he returned to his search. "What are you actually looking for?"

"Something, Merlin, something important, but you wouldn't know what it is." was the little he gave in way of an answer.

"Then tell me?" he suggested, hoping for the other man to give him something in resemblance of a clue. It turned out though, luckily enough, that the prince did not need to tell his servant, as he was now holding in his hands a piece of parchment, worn, coloured and ripped at the edges, though the man looked at it with the reverence he would award a declaration of eternal peace.

"She drew this for me, when she began to take an interest in art. She was always brilliant at it, as she was at most things. Except subtlety and self-control, that is." Arthur added with a smile, turning the piece of parchment so that Merlin could see it. Truthfully, it was astonishing that a single flowerbed could be so beautifully drawn.

"It's brilliant." he commented, not lying in the least.

"Even better, considering she was only seven years old when she drew it." This was the remark that caught Merlin's attention, as it was the remark that proved it all.

"Arthur? Morgana was seven when she drew this?" Merlin asked, hardly able to keep the excitement out of his voice.

"Yes. Why?" the man replied.

"Because she was five when she died."

A/N: Dun dun dun! The point is proven! Please review, then I'll update!


	6. Questions and Answers

Chapter Six

A/N:

For just a second, Arthur's face went blank, his brow a little furrowed as he considered what his servant had just told him. Then, as he finally comprehended the man's point, the prince's face broke out into the widest smile that Merlin had ever seen.

"Merlin, you truly are a genius!" the man exclaimed, beaming and laughing as he glanced down towards the drawing, still disbelieving that a single piece of aged parchment could be so important.

"I am honestly in shock. Twice in a week you've called me that!" Merlin exclaimed, his voice definitely emphasising his point, as did his facial expression.

"Well, perhaps you've made a good impression on me this week, for once in your life!" the blonde told him. Merlin knew that it was the closest to a complement he was ever going to receive from Arthur, who had already exited the room, and was now halfway down the corridor. The man knew from instinct that his master was headed for Morgana's, or rather Vivienne's, private chambers.

Just a moment later, Arthur burst straight through the door of Vivienne's bedchamber, not even bothering to knock the door before entering. To little surprise, the brunette, who had been stood barely five feet away from the door at the time, cried out in shock.

"Good Lord. Arthur." the woman breathed, still gasping as she pressed her hand to her chest, trying to still her rapidly beating heart a little. "What can I do for you at this hour?"

"We have something we need to talk to you about, Merlin and I." the prince told her, a little less gently than he perhaps could have done, something which he took great notice of after he had spoken.

"And what would that be?" she responded to him, seemingly unfazed by her nephew's brash attitude. To her surprise, the man did not respond, merely stood unmoving in the doorway, as Merlin did behind him, each wishing for the other to respond to the brunette's question. "You know that I'll help you with anything, Arthur, but I need to know what you want of me."

Once his aunt had finished her speech, Arthur took a deep breath, holding it for just a moment before he opened his mouth to respond to her.

"I need to ask you something very important…" he began, pausing even as Vivienne gave him an encouraging smile, telling her nephew to continue, though doing so without the use of words. "Something about Morgana."

In an instant, the smile on the woman's face disappeared, a single tear falling from her eye. The death of her young daughter was still raw for her, and she had never quite gotten over what had happened that fateful night.

"What do you want to know?" she asked, her voice a little more forced than it had been before, as she attempted not to let it crack and fade away altogether.

"I just wanted to know, after the fire… did you ever find her body?" Arthur knew even as he spoke that the question was tearing at his aunt's heart, but he paid little attention to this fact. It was possibly the most important question that the prince had ever asked, but there was no way around it. He needed to know.

Vivienne paused for a minute before answering her nephew, breathing heavily, as if she were attempting to keep tears from her eyes. However, once she summoned the courage not to let the tears escape, the woman's voice was far clearer and more confident than it had done before.

"No. We didn't. We all assumed that… the fire was too strong for her body to survive it. Her body continued to burn, even after she was dead." Though her voice had remained strong, Vivienne's voice cracked and faltered when she spoke the final word, tears rolling down her cheeks as a sob escaped her throat.

Unable to stop herself, the woman turned away from Arthur and Merlin, crossing the room to the side of the window, where she stood in near silence. From the point of view of the two youngers, the only indication that the brunette had not been turned to stone was the shaking of her shoulders, as heart wrenching sobs wracked through her body.

"I am sorry, Aunt Vivienne, but I have to tell you this. Something has happened, something magical, and if we discover exactly what, we may be able to bring Morgana back." Arthur stated, catching the attention of the woman, particularly when her daughter's name was mentioned. She turned back to face her nephew, hope mingling with the tears in her eyes.

"What do you mean? You can bring my darling back?" The joy entering into the woman's voice was unmistakable, and Arthur felt his spirits lift slightly as she did so. The more she was interested in what had happened, the more she would do to help them.

"Aunt Vivienne, Morgana should never have died. Something has happened, someone has cursed her, because, in the version of events I remember, it wasn't Morgana who died. It was… It was you." the prince paused once again, to give the elder woman a chance to take in the information. After all, he imagined that it would not be easy for someone to be told that their child had been dead for eleven years, but that they were not supposed to have died at all.

"So, in the reality you remember, I died in the fire?" she asked, to which Arthur responded with a nod in the affirmative. "And Morgana lived? She wasn't in the house?"

"She was in the house, when the fire was started. She was trapped in her bedroom. You saw her, and you ran into the house. I don't know what happened while you were inside, but about a minute later, the house collapsed. Everything went silent, then we saw someone run out of the wreckage. It was Morgana."

Once again, both Merlin and Arthur looked up to see that Vivienne was breathing heavily once again, as if she could not believe what she was hearing. However, the silence did not last for long.

"How do I know I can trust you, Arthur?" she asked, a hint of subtle judgement in her voice. Wordlessly, Arthur raised his hand, bringing the piece of parchment into his aunt's view, along with the date that was written on it.

"Someone has done this to her, Aunt Vivienne. Someone has killed her, and brought you to life." the young man said, taking a deep breath himself as he did so.

"I know." his aunt told him, hanging her head in shame. "Because it was me."

A/N: Oh no! Please review, to find out why she did it.


End file.
